After many months of speculation and political pressure, President Obama laid out his plans for U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan last night. His plans signal a shift in strategy, with Obama pulling troops out of Afghanistan at a faster pace than top military generals had initially recommended. Some senior officials have said on the record that rapid troop withdrawal will make it difficult for the remaining American forces in Afghanistan to complete their mission. 

Over our nearly decade-long war in Afghanistan, we've become accustomed to hearing stories of death and destruction—loss of life has become the price of this war. Former Foreign Service officer Patricia McArdle has written a story of re-birth and a second chance at life, based on her time in Afghanistan. Her new novel, "Farishta," tells the story of Angela Morgan, whose husband died in the bombing of the U.S. embassy in Beirut in 1983. After mourning for 20 years, Angela is sent to an isolated British Army compound in Afghanistan, and it's there that she is reborn.

President Obama says he’s withdrawing troops from Afghanistan because they have satisfied their mission. So does that also mean we no longer have enemies there- we find out soon, on The Takeaway.

We continue our conversation on President Obama's announcement tonight on his plan for withdrawing US troops from Afghanistan, including how many troops will be returning home and when, and whether or not this will signal the end of the Afghanistan War. The BBC's Paul Wood is in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, and has been speaking with Afghans about their opinions on possible U.S. and NATO troop withdrawals. 

Over the weekend, Afghan president Hamid Karzai lashed out at coalition forces on state television, suggesting NATO was in his country for "their own purposes." U.S. officials fired back, suggesting that such statements may hasten a withdrawal of troops despite continuing challenges to Afghanistan's government. This rhetorical tit-for-tat illustrates a larger argument that grows even more heated as taste for the war across the country and in Washington lessens. Is it time to get out completely? And if so, how? 

The troop drawdown in Afghanistan is scheduled to begin in July, but we don't yet know how many will be taken out of the country. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said that a slower drawdown is needed when he spoke from Afghanistan on his farewell visit to troops before his retirement. David Sanger, chief Washington correspondent for The New York Times analyzes the situation. He says we haven't yet heard from the new Secretary of Defense, Leon Panetta. It is likely, says Sanger, that President Obama do what he did in Iraq, essentially setting a date for the ultimate drawdown and leave the pace of the withdrawal up to the commanders. 

NATO airstrikes on Sunday targeting insurgents in Afghanistan. NATO says that nine people were killed, while Afghan officials put that number at 14. A senior NATO official issued a "heartfelt apology" for the bungled airstrike. Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai lashed at out NATO and the United States, saying this was their "final warning." Peter Galbraith, is a former U.N. Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan. He explores how these recent events will affect the future of what NATO and the United States are trying to accomplish in Afghanistan.

At least 35 construction workers have been shot dead and 20 injured by Taliban insurgents in eastern Afghanistan. The attack took place in a mountainous district on the highway linking Paktia and Khost provinces. The BBC's Quentin Sommerville reports from Kabul.

Kati Marton has made a name for herself as an author and a journalist at ABC and public radio. As the wife of accomplished American Diplomat Richard Holbrooke, a special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan until his death at the end of last year, she also has a unique perspective on the war in Afghanistan and how U.S. policy is playing in the Middle East. Marton explains how Holbrooke's influence has seeped into U.S. policy in Afghanistan the broader Middle East. 

Since the beginning of the war in Afghanistan, thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes, joining the 43 million refugees who are currently displaced around the world. Khaled Hosseini, bestselling author of “The Kite Runner” and “A Thousand Splendid Suns,” feels a particular kinship with these refugees. In 1980, when he was a teenager, he and his family were granted asylum in the U.S. when Afghanistan faced a different decade-long war with the Soviets.

BBC correspondent Paul Wood visited children in Afghanistan who were tricked into becoming suicide bombers, before they were arrested by coalition authorities. Children as young as eight say that they were told that they wouldn't die if they carried out an attack. We hear their voices.

The ripple effect of Osama bin Laden’s death is already being felt. In Yemen, an al-Qaida stronghold, at least 10 people were killed and more than 20 injured when gunmen believed to be al-Qaida members attacked two security patrols in the southern province of Abyan. But in Afghanistan, analysts believe that Osama bin Laden's death may lead the Taliban to finally sever their ties to al-Qaida — a move the Obama Administration and President Hamid Karzai’s regime have demanded as a condition for opening up negotiations with insurgents.

For our troops fighting in Afghanistan, there may be a new threat, beyond the constant worry of enemy fire which occurs in the field. This new threat is growing behind friendly lines. According to Stars and Stripes, at least 38 coalition troops have been killed by Afghan Security forces undergoing routine  training. Two weeks ago, 5 NATO troops were killed by a Taliban suicide bomber who enlisted as an Afghan National Army soldier.

How did five hundred or more Taliban members pull off one of the biggest prison breaks in recent memory in Kandahar, Afghanistan? If you’re thinking that it was something out of the movies, like say, Shawshank Redemption, you’re actually not far off. Ron Moreau, Newsweek’s Afghanistan and Pakistan correspondent, along with his colleague Sami Yousafzai, spoke to two Taliban members that took part in the escape. Moreau explains how they pulled it off.

The Taliban have claimed that it spent five months digging the tunnel that stretched from Kandahar's main prison, under a highway to a nearby house. Security forces have been criticized and a spokesperson for President Hamid Karzai said the escape was a disaster. However, it is likely that there were bribes and infiltration at high levels for this to have happened, explains Alissa J. Rubin, Kabul bureau chief for The New York Times. She says it was likely a small group who masterminded the escape.

Almost five hundred Taliban militants have escaped from the main prison in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Insurgents say they spent months digging a tunnel into the jail which through which almost a third of the prison population escaped. This includes about a hundred Taliban commanders. One escapee said it took him half an hour to crawl to freedom. Afghan politician and former MP, Daoud Sultanzai says that this "shows the fragile state of affairs of our security apparatus" in Afghanistan.

CBS "60 Minutes" is not widely broadcast inside Afghanistan or Pakistan, but you wouldn't know it from the reactions from a story over the weekend. In a take down of the  famous book, "Three Cups of Tea," CBS disputed the veracity of Greg Mortenson's his charity work. CBS also took issue with the finances of his work in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The BBC's Bilal Sawary reports from Kabul.

Following a CBS "60 Minutes" report that found factual errors in the best-selling book, "Three Cups of Tea," author Greg Mortenson and his charitable work in Afghanistan and Pakistan have come under fire. In the book, Mortenson writes about stumbling into a tiny village in northeastern Pakistan and coming across a group of schoolchildren doing their lessons with sticks and dirt. It was then, he writes, that he discovered his passion to build schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan. But "60 Minutes'" producers found factual errors in the book and suggest that Mortenson's charity may be spending money poorly and exaggerating their accomplishments. Mortenson is denying the allegations.

The Taliban has claimed responsibility for an attack on Afghanistan's heavily fortified Defense Ministry, which killed two and wounded seven others. The attacker was reportedly killed by bodyguards just outside the Defense Minster's office. This is the beginning of what the Taliban has called their "spring offensive." Ray Rivera, foreign correspondent for The New York Times reports from Kabul.

In 2005, at the age of 27, Malalai Joya became the youngest person ever elected to Afghanistan's National Assembly. In 2007, she was booted from the Parliament after publicly criticizing Afghan warlords. Now, Joya is an activist for women and democracy, and she remains a fierce critic of both Hamid Karzai's government and the presence of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan. Joya shares her story and explains why she has been called "the bravest woman in Afghanistan."